Saturday, September 22, 2012

'Gangnam Style' Dance-Off Turns Into Shootout In Thailand


A dance-off took a dangerous turn when two rival teen gangs decided to settle things with bullets in Bangkok, on Friday.


The Bangkok Post reports that the two gangs were dining at the same restaurant when younger members of the groups tried to resolve their differences with a "Gangnam Style" dance-off, before an argument erupted and one of the groups left the venue.


Four people from the group returned at 6 a.m. and fired several shots into the sky, one teen told police.


"I tried to mediate and they agreed to leave. Three of them later returned at about 8 a.m. and they sprayed bullets in all directions like in action movies. I and other people there were running for our lives," he said.


Police told the paper that at least 50 bullets were sprayed, hitting parked cars on the road, but luckily no one was injured during the fight.


Though no one was hurt, The Guardian reports that the incident has fueled debate over gang violence in Thailand, with much of the violence playing out in high school and colleges. According to a recent report by Agence France-Press, between January and July this year, Bangkok police registered more than 1,000 cases of student rivalry, and several students have been injured or killed since the school year began in May.


The song "Gangnam Style" by South Korea's Psy has become an international sensation, and was just officially named the most-liked video on YouTube, and has garnered more than 242 million hits -- but it's not the first time it's been pulled into a controversy.


Earlier this month, a group of teenage lifeguards who worked in a city pool in El Monte, Calif. were fired after they made a parody video of the song while off duty and posted it on YouTube. Their supervisor didn't appreciate the video which she told the teens was, "inappropriate and disgusting."


No comments:

Post a Comment